Burns Unit

The Victorian Adult Burns Service (VABS) at The Alfred hospital is the state-wide provider of burns care for all adults with complex major burn injuries in Victoria, as well as many people with less severe burns.  Each year we admit over 300 burns patients and review over 1000 outpatients.

In addition, we provide education and training for rural and regional clinicians involved in caring for burn-injured patients, and collaborate with community and industry groups on burn awareness campaigns and to provide first aid education and training.

We undertake research into the causes and mechanisms of burn injuries, as well as evaluating emerging clinical treatment technologies.  The Victorian Adult Burns Service at The Alfred provides clinical leadership in all aspects of adult burn care.

The Victorian Adult Burns Service (incorporating The Helen MacPherson Smith Burns Unit on 6 West) provides:

• Acute care for all severely injured adult burns patients in Victoria

• Secondary reconstructive surgery for burns patients in association with the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit.

• Post-Operative rehabilitation and scar management services

• Advice, assessment and treatment of outpatients with minor burns  

The Victorian State Burns Clinical Practice Guidelines

Each year, over 5000 patients present to Emergency Departments throughout Victoria with burn injuries. Approximately 400 of these injuries are transferred to the states' two specialist burns services at the Alfred and Royal Children's Hospital for specialist care.

As the majority of these injuries are managed by clinicians outside of the states two specialist burns services, the two services have developed the Victorian State Burns Clinical Practice Guidelines that provide rapid, user friendly access to information to direct health care professionals caring for people with burn injuries in the primary care setting in Victoria.

They aim to provide a consistent standard of burns management, particularly in the early stages post injury, in order to improve outcomes for those who are injured.

The target audience of the guidelines includes:

• Emergency medical responders
• Emergency department staff
• General practitioners & physicians
• General surgeons
• Nurses
• Paramedics

The Victorian State Burns Clinical Practice Guidelines

The Victorian arm of the Bi-national Burns Registry would like to acknowledge the valuable donation of funds from the
Helen Macpherson Smith Trust.

Department Files

• Evidence Summary - Silver Based Products & Burns (367.3 KB, PDF)
• Evidence Summary - Early Burn Pain Management (398.9 KB, PDF)
• Evidence Summary - Early Cooling of Burns (412.3 KB, PDF)
• Evidence Summary - Early Burns Dressings (439.1 KB, PDF)
• Evidence Summary - Burns Blister Management (369.6 KB, PDF)
• Analgesia Brochure (163.3 KB, PDF)
• Burns Management Resources (29.6 KB, PDF)
• Stay Safe Burns Prevention Newsletter (3.65 MB, PDF)